


A Fridge With a View

by sergeant_angel



Category: Captain America (Movies), Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crack, F/M, Gen, I need so much T'challa in my life interacting with my faves, Multi, be nice to bucky, civil war spoilers, moscow on the hudson undertones, operation let's stop being assholes to bucky barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 18:17:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6764749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sergeant_angel/pseuds/sergeant_angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events at the end of Captain America: Civil War, Kate and Steve head to Wakanda.<br/>(Bucky isn't the only person who's forgotten things about his past)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Fridge With a View

**Author's Note:**

> You can read this into Riptide if you want but I'm not sure I'm willing to be that mean to Bucky, honestly.

They'd gotten through security with no trouble, which is why it's surprising when, upon attempting to enter the Wakandan medical center/lab/????? Kate isn't sure? Kate gets slammed up against a wall.

The woman who is doing the slamming is both beautiful and terrifying and part of Kate wants, very desperately, to make a joke, but Steve is next to her and they're getting ready to thaw their pseudo-boyfriend for a visit and it honestly doesn't seem appropriate.

"We're here on the King's invitation," Steve tells the guard, hands up in a placating gesture. "She's with me."

"She is on a Wakandan watchlist."

Kate's _whoa, what?_ is drowned out by Steve's "What, about the whole Berlin thing? That wasn't-"

"She has been on the watchlist since 2001," the woman continues.

"Wait," Kate says. "Uh, what?"

"You attempted to kill the King of Wakanda," the woman continues as the sound of boots hitting tile echo down the hall.

"I was  _twelve_ in '01," Kate feels obligated to protest. "And like, boring-twelve not assassin-twelve or spy-twelve."

"Your Majesty," Steve says, relief coloring his voice. "Great. Can you tell us what's going on?"

Which is when Kate has the chance to really look at King T'Challa of Wakanda. There's something familiar about him, in the back of her brain, her mind  _click-click-click_ ing through her memories as he appears to do the same.

"Oh, crap," she says when she's landed on how she knows him, earning an incredulous look from Steve.

"Are you about to say you  _did_ try to kill T'Challa when you were twelve?" Steve says with the air of a man who is just plain done. 

"I didn't know he was the  _prince of Wakanda_ ," she hisses. "I just thought he was a diplomat's kid!"

The king of Wakanda starts to laugh at her, then, doubling over, hands braced on his thighs. 

"I can't believe I did not recognize your name!" He manages after what feels like hours. "Please. It is all right, let her go. I believe my father meant it as a joke. He told the story often enough that I believe he may have meant to invite you to visit just so he could tell it to a new audience." T'Challa waves his hand at the guards and Kate is released so suddenly she staggers a bit.

"Does one of you mind explaining what's going on?" Steve asks. 

T'Challa gestures at her to go ahead.

"Well, apparently there are opposing viewpoints to this story," Kate starts. "But. This was back when my mother was still alive, she was big into disaster aid and people helping people-I don't know how she even got on the King of Wakanda's radar. But. Anyway, there was this big event thing, trying to schmooze diplomats and millionaires and T'Challa and I were two of-what, maybe six kids? And we got bored."

T'Challa has started laughing again, silently this time. 

"So, you know, naturally we found some climbing rigs and hooked them up and went rappelling down the side of the building with one of the other kids. I would like to stress that the other kid was a diplomat's daughter and I had  _no idea_ you were a Prince!" She kind of wants to punch the King in the arm because he has that  _look_ like Tommy gets but she's pretty sure she's not supposed to do that. "Also, and I'd like to repeat this, _I_ _was twelve_."

"How tall was the building?" Steve hazards.

"Oh, tall," Kate shrugs off the question. "It's not like we were all the way up, though."

"Only forty stories or so," T'Challa adds. King or no, what an asshole. It's like he  _wanted_ Steve to look like he was about to have an apoplectic fit. Doesn't he know Steve is like a hundred, and shock isn't good for the heart?

" _Forty stories?"_

"Says the man who jumps from planes and helicarriers and  _also tall buildings_. I don't have to take this crap from you, Steven."

King T'Challa's eyes rove from Kate to Steve and back, appearing delighted in this odd turn of events.

"Katherine," he nods his head toward her. "It is a pleasure to meet you again, but may I ask as to how you know the Captain? He was rather insistent that you be allowed to come."

She flashes Steve an impulsive smile that he returns. "We work together. Sort of," she amends.

The King tilts his head at her before nodding in recognition. "Hawkeye, then. The one in purple."

"Sorry about running into you with a motorcycle." She covers her surprise that he recognizes her.

"It is forgiven."

"So," Kate rubs her hands together, suddenly anxious. "Bucky. Can we see him?"

"Of course," T'Challa leads them down the hall. "The process to awaken him takes an hour or more, in order to shock the body the least. The doctors will keep track of his vitals and adjust the process accordingly."

Steve has moved past them into the room that is sterile-looking but still oddly inviting.

 She can see the shadow of Bucky's dark hair in the frosted recesses of the cryo-chamber.

"Thank you," she tells him, this king who might be a friend. "I know you probably won't ever need a favor from someone like me, but--thank you. I can't thank you enough for this."

"I did not do this in expectation of a favor," he informs her, hands clasped behind his back. "I had many reasons, but--"

"But none of them were that," Kate finishes. 

"You dare interrupt a king?" He says it with a flash of a smirk, though.

"I live in a democracy," she shoots back. Then, "Sorry."

He shakes his head at her. "Go. If the two of you need anything before he wakes, ask.  And who knows? Perhaps some day I _will_ need your help."

His gaze drifts to Steve, who seems to be talking to Bucky through the ice. "I can think of worse allies than the three of you."

"Your Majesty-T'Challa," she says as he turns to leave. "I'm sorry about your father."

He nods at her. 

"You know, I eavesdropped on our parents after we got caught. My dad was pissed--Ellie's parents and our moms were just terrified. But your dad-he was kind of impressed. My dad was ranting and raving about how incompetent our nannies and bodyguards were, and your father said, 'if those children decided to do something, I don't think anyone could have stopped them. We could have placed them in a concrete box surrounded by guards and if they wanted to cause trouble, they would have.' he said it was a matter of directing that energy. I think about a lot," she admits. "I never even really met your father and he still influenced me, still does to this day." 

"Your mother passed not long after that, didn't she?"

"We are none of us strangers to loss," she quips.

"Sometimes, things you thought you lost come back to you." He inclines his head towards the room that holds Steve and Bucky. 

Kate is settling in the chair next to Steve before the realization dawns that the king maybe hadn't just been speaking about the three of them finding each other. She kicks off her shoes and tucks her feet under Steve's leg. "I think we all sort of became besties with the King of Wakanda," she informs him. "Are we going to read to him? All I brought was an archery catalog."

"Don't lie, I know you have books on your phone."

"All right, fine, i just know you brought the  _Wizard of Oz_ collection and I wanted to listen to you read."

"Really? Huh. Okay," Steve looks surprised and pleased as he digs around in his bag. 

Kate settles in as Steve starts, his voice mixing with the hiss of medical equipment and the chime of monitors. It all slowly blends into a strange mixture of safety, family, and home.


End file.
